The Seattle Center Department was created in 1965 to administer, manage and control the facilities on the site of the 1962 World's Fair. The facilities at the Seattle Center date back to 1927 with completion of the construction of the Civic Auditorium, Civic Arena, Veterans Hall, and the Civic Playfield. The property expanded to 74 acres in 1962 to accommodate the World's Fair. The Center's purpose is to be an active civic center providing facilities and programs supporting the arts, education, sports and entertainment. It is home for the Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, three resident theaters, and the Seattle Storm professional basketball team. In addition, there are five facilities on the grounds that are not owned by the City: the Space Needle, Memorial Stadium, the Pacific Science Center, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and the Experience Music Project.
From 1966 to 1974, the Seattle Center annual reports include organization charts, financial information, and attendance figures. Also included are maps of the grounds and brief facility profiles. From 1974 forward the reports are briefer, including accomplishments, repairs and improvements, and other brief highlights.
Records are open to the public.
A Comptroller or Clerk File (CF) can consist of correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been placed "on file" with the Office of the City Clerk (OCC). They are primarily permanent records, but also include routine material which was periodically purged. Certain archival records identified in the CF have been removed, arranged into records series, and incorporated into the collection of the Seattle Municipal Archives, a program of the OCC.
[Item and date], Seattle Center Annual Reports, Record Series 1802-I3 Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.